What Circle Surrogacy does

Circle Surrogacy is a Boston-headquartered, full-service gestational surrogacy agency founded in October 1995 by John Weltman, a gay dad who built his own family through surrogacy. The company operates a vertically integrated model with in-house attorneys, mental health professionals, insurance specialists, and accountants managing surrogate matching, legal parentage, escrow, and insurance coordination, distinguishing it from competitors that outsource these functions. Its flagship Journey Protection Program is a fixed-fee all-inclusive offering priced at $189,500, covering agency, legal, escrow, and insurance costs for unlimited embryo transfers and including a $100,000 refund guarantee if parents do not bring home a baby. Circle's proprietary MatchMade™ process matches intended parents with surrogates using personality, communication, lifestyle, and clinical criteria, and access is restricted to the top 4% of surrogate applicants through a three-step screening protocol.

Circle serves a diversified base spanning heterosexual intended parents with infertility or medical conditions, LGBTQIA+ parents (40% of the mix), international parents from 70 countries (25% of the mix), cancer survivors, and HIV-positive intended fathers via the SPAR program in partnership with Bedford Research Foundation. Distribution is primarily direct: five physical offices (Boston HQ, New York, Washington DC, Burlingame CA, and London), nearly 400 fertility-clinic referral partnerships, and an exclusive Carrot Fertility enterprise benefits channel. Revenue is generated per journey via the fixed program fee plus pass-through surrogate compensation ($70K-$75K+) and ancillary clinical fees, with no recurring subscription model. The company is privately held, founder-operated, and has reported 4,000+ babies born and a 99.2% success rate over 30+ years.

Name

Circle Surrogacy

Legal name

Circle Surrogacy, LLC

Website

https://circlesurrogacy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Circle Surrogacy is a privately held, full-service gestational surrogacy agency founded in 1995, serving heterosexual, LGBTQIA+, international, and medical-needs intended parents through in-house legal, mental-health, escrow, and matching services across five US and UK offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Surrogacy and Family Building Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

akta.pro primary industry

Contraception & Family Planning Telehealth (birth control, counseling, follow-up) (HLALAHAB)

Keywords

• Gestational surrogacy services
• Surrogacy agency services
• Family building services
• Egg donor matching
• Fertility coordination services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Surrogacy Program Fees: Circle charges fixed program fees for its all-inclusive Journey Protection™ Program which covers agency coordination, legal services, escrow management, insurance, and journey support. The fixed price of $189,500 encompasses all non-medical surrogate fees, unlimited embryo transfers, and complications. This is the primary revenue stream from intended parents.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Circle Surrogacy is a full-service gestational surrogacy agency that coordinates the entire surrogacy journey for intended parents and surrogates. The agency handles surrogate matching, in-house legal services, escrow management, insurance coordination, mental health support, and case management through its Journey Protection Program with a fixed all-inclusive fee of $189,500.

Product overview

Circle Surrogacy is a full-service gestational surrogacy agency founded in 1995, offering a comprehensive suite of services for intended parents and gestational surrogates. The core offering centers on the Gestational Surrogacy Agency Services, supported by proprietary matching (MatchMade Process) and comprehensive program pricing (Journey Protection Program at $189,500). The company provides in-house capabilities including legal professionals, mental health specialists, escrow management, and an egg donor database. Specialized programs include the SPAR Program for HIV-positive intended parents. Additional offerings include surrogate screening services, referral programs, parent support groups, and the Family Circle Podcast for community education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Journey Protection Program: All-inclusive fixed fee program covering agency, legal, escrow, and insurance costs for surrogacy journeys.
• MatchMade
• Carrot Partnership

Products and services

• Gestational Surrogacy Agency Services Comprehensive full-service surrogacy coordination for intended parents and gestational surrogates covering surrogate matching, medical coordination, legal support, escrow management, insurance coordination, and mental health support across the entire journey.
• Journey Protection Program All-inclusive fixed-fee program priced at $189,500 that covers all non-medical surrogate fees, unlimited embryo transfers, complications, and includes a $100,000 refund guarantee if intended parents use all embryos and do not bring home a baby.
• SPAR Program (Special Program of Assisted Reproduction) Specialized surrogacy program that enables HIV-positive men to safely build biological families through surrogacy using semen testing, PCR HIV DNA assay, sperm washing, and cryopreservation with zero recorded HIV transmissions across 500+ babies born.
• In-House Egg Donor Database Internal database of thoroughly screened fresh egg donors available to intended parents, with trusted third-party partnerships for frozen donor options to support IVF and embryo creation.
• Journey Protection Escrow Services Audited, fully-insured escrow program using bonded escrow accounts at regulated financial institutions to protect intended parents' funds throughout the surrogacy journey, including all non-medical surrogate fees, unlimited embryo transfers, and complications coverage.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.2% of Circle parents bring home a baby
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Carrot FertilitycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCircle Surrogacy is an exclusive Carrot partner, offering surrogacy services as a benefit to Carrot's employer clients and their employees. Carrot members receive access to Circle's fixed-fee all-inclusive program with a 99.2% success rate and Journey Protection™ program guarantees. This partnership targets the employer-sponsored fertility benefits market.
• Bedford Research Foundation (Dr. Ann Kiessling)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCircle partners with the Bedford Research Foundation to offer the SPAR (Special Program of Assisted Reproduction) program, enabling HIV-positive men to safely build families through surrogacy. The program has facilitated over 500 baby births with zero HIV transmissions. Dr. Kiessling's innovative protocol combines semen testing via PCR HIV DNA assay and sperm washing.
• Nearly 400 Fertility Clinics (US)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCircle has relationships with nearly 400 fertility clinics nationally. The top 10 fertility clinics have been partnered with Circle for over a decade. These include Boston IVF, CCRM Boston, Illume, RMA of New York and Cornell, NYU Fertility Center, and the Lister Clinic (UK). Clinics refer prospective parents to Circle and receive matched surrogates.
• Stupid CancerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCircle has partnered with Stupid Cancer, participating in events such as CancerCon and the OMG Stupid Cancer Summit. This partnership raises awareness of surrogacy as a family-building option for cancer survivors.
• Young Survival CoalitionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCircle has partnered with the Young Survival Coalition, which supports young women diagnosed with breast cancer. Partnership raises awareness of fertility preservation and surrogacy options for cancer survivors.
• Oncofertility Consortium & Gilda's ClubminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCircle participates in events and partnerships with the Oncofertility Consortium and Gilda's Club, cancer support organizations that help survivors understand their fertility and family-building options.
• Gays With KidsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGays With Kids (founded by Brian Rosenberg) is a media and community platform for LGBTQIA+ families. Brian Rosenberg and his husband grew their family through Circle Surrogacy. He serves as an advocate and referral source for Circle within the LGBTQIA+ community.
• UK-based Legal Experts and Clinics (including Lister Clinic)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCircle works with UK-based legal experts and top clinics such as the Lister Clinic to ensure smooth international surrogacy for UK parents. Legal experts handle UK-specific parentage recognition and documentation required to return to the UK with the child.
• CCRM Fertility (Boston)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCircle works closely with CCRM Fertility in Boston on co-branded content about when to stop IVF and consider surrogacy. CCRM physicians review prior IVF cycles and recommend alternatives like surrogacy when appropriate.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Growing Generations: One of the largest full-service surrogacy and egg donation agencies in the U.S. Direct competitor to Circle, with a comparable end-to-end agency model serving both heterosexual and LGBTQIA+ intended parents and a similar celebrity/international clientele.
• ConceiveAbilities: Full-service surrogacy and egg donation agency headquartered in Chicago with similar long-tenured operations. Offers comparable surrogate matching, in-house case management, and guarantees — directly competing with Circle for both intended parents and gestational carriers.
• Center for Surrogate Parenting (CSP): One of the oldest surrogacy agencies in the U.S., founded in 1980. Matches Circle's full-service agency model, medical/legal coordination, and mixed clientele of heterosexual and LGBTQIA+ intended parents. Comparable brand longevity and process maturity.
• Extraordinary Conceptions: California-based full-service surrogacy and egg donation agency. Closely comparable in business model, target clientele (including international intended parents), and emphasis on surrogate support. Direct competitor in the West Coast and international markets.
• Family Source Consultants: Illinois-based gestational surrogacy agency offering a similar full-service package with surrogate matching, legal coordination, and escrow support. Directly comparable in scale and service breadth, and serves as an alternative agency destination for prospective parents.
• Worldwide Surrogacy: Canadian-based agency specializing in cross-border surrogacy for international intended parents — particularly Europeans excluded from domestic surrogacy. Comparable to Circle's international franchise and overlap in producing journeys in partnership with U.S. clinics.
• Creative Family Connections: Reproductive law firm and surrogacy agency hybrid offering legal parentage and matching services. Comparable to Circle's in-house legal capabilities and overlapping service model for LGBTQIA+ and international families navigating complex parentage law.

Broad incumbents

• Carrot Fertility: Enterprise fertility benefits platform — and Circle's exclusive partner — that channels employer-sponsored intended parents to surrogacy agencies. Not a direct competitor to Circle, but a major distribution channel and broader incumbent that could expand into deeper surrogacy services over time.
• Progyny: Public fertility benefits company serving large employers. Provides managed IVF and increasingly family-building pathways. Adjacent to Circle's market — represents the broader employer benefits ecosystem that funnels intended parents toward agencies and could itself expand into surrogacy coordination.

Emerging players

• CCRM Fertility: Large U.S. fertility clinic network partnered with Circle for clinic referrals. Comparable in reproductive medicine focus and overlapping in the IVF-to-surrogacy handoff; services the same intended parents from upstream.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CircleSurrogacy
• Facebookfacebook.com/circlesurrogacyagency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/circle-surrogacy
• Instagraminstagram.com/circlesurrogacy
• TikToktiktok.com/@circlesurrogacy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Circle Surrogacy